Sunday, October 18, 2009

Donut Falls

A week ago I decided I wanted to see Donut Falls. I used to hike there a lot as a teenager. So off I went by myself to take pictures. I parked in the lot grabbed my camera and walked to the trail head. I guess that it never crossed my addled brain that there would be snow and lots and lots of mud. After much debate I decided to hike to the first bend of the trail. After all, this was supposed to be an easy hike according to the articles I had read. LIARS! I must have missed the part that said it was 3/4 of a mile straight up. Holy Cow I did not remember this hike being sooo uphill. It seems to me that as a kid we practically ran there in 5 minutes or so. Boy has my brain withered away!

After stopping to catch my breath I thought (stupid me) it can't be that much further just keep going. The next time I stopped I was thinking maybe I will just lay here and they can find my body in the spring. But alas (stupid me again) I kept going. Thankfully about 1/2 a mile up the trail leveled off some and was not as steep. So once again (remember my brain is addled) I decided it was a matter of pride to keep going even though my joints and back were screaming "hey stupid, what do you think you are doing this hurts".

So far even though my goal for this hike was to take pictures I had not even taken my camera out of the bag so I decided to stop and take some pictures of the stream under a huge pine tree. As I was taking pictures a mom and two kids came walking down the trail all with big grins on their faces (really do they have to be so happy). The worst part was one of the kids was only about four which really made me feel old and feeble. Almost there she tells me, at which point I decide that all the happy not in pain people should be shipped off to a deserted island somewhere close to the South Pole (o.k., maybe just to Antelope Island). Off I go to the almost there Falls which would be almost there if I were a Giant.

After what seemed like an eternity I arrived at the falls to find out I have to climb down some huge rocks to actually see the falls which are literally just right around the corner. The rock wall is about 10 feet straight down. Now it was a matter of pride to get myself down to see those stupid falls. Luckily no one was around to see my very ungraceful climb down the rocks. And there it was Donut Falls. Not as grand as I remember but still beautiful.

The best part was knowing I did it, me, all by myself without any help. My Rheumatoid Arthritis has stopped me from enjoying a lot of things I used to do so this was a great accomplishment for me. Would I do it again anytime soon, absolutely not, but I am sure proud of what I accomplished. And I even got some great photos along the way!

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About Me

I consider myself very lucky to share my life with my husband Darin and my two daughters Taylor and Cheyanne. My house is also shared with our dogs, cats, bunny, cockatiels, and fish. Through the love and support of my family and friends I have been able to turn a love of photography and scrapbooking into a business as an Independent Consultant for Close To My Heart.